Multi-institutional analysis of treatment modalities in basal ganglia and thalamic germinoma

Central nervous system germinomas are treatment-sensitive tumors with excellent survival outcomes. Current treatment strategies combine chemotherapy with radiotherapy (RT) in order to reduce the field and dose of RT. Germinomas originating in the basal ganglia/thalamus have proven challenging to treat given their rarity and poorly defined imaging characteristics. Craniospinal, whole brain, whole ventricle, and focal RT have all been utilized; however, the best treatment strategy remains unclear.

Citation:
Graham RT, Abu-Arja MH, Stanek JR, Cappellano A, …… Gottardo NG, Allen J, Packer R, et al. Multi-institutional analysis of treatment modalities in basal ganglia and thalamic germinoma. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2021;68(10):e29172.

Keywords:
Basal ganglia; chemotherapy; germinoma; pure germinoma; radiation therapy; thalamus

Abstract:
Central nervous system germinomas are treatment-sensitive tumors with excellent survival outcomes. Current treatment strategies combine chemotherapy with radiotherapy (RT) in order to reduce the field and dose of RT. Germinomas originating in the basal ganglia/thalamus have proven challenging to treat given their rarity and poorly defined imaging characteristics. Craniospinal, whole brain, whole ventricle, and focal RT have all been utilized; however, the best treatment strategy remains unclear.